McSam Hotel Group

McSam Hotel Group is one of the largest hotel developers in New York City. Founded in 2001 by its current chairman, longtime hotel developer Sam Chang, the Long Island-based McSam made its name building along Manhattan's West Side and converting a once-industrial area into a hotel haven. At any one time, the hotel company has a number of hotels in development. In 2008, McSam boasted 22 hotels under development, though the firm's pace slowed after the recession hit that same year, especially with ground-up Manhattan projects. Most of McSam's hotels are in Midtown, and a many of them are targeted towards the budget traveler. McSam uses architects Gene Kaufman and Michael Kang for many of its projects, such as 344 West 36th Street.